OB 15yo Revival 46% - Glendronach

[scotchio]

OB Glendronach Revival 15 46%

N Buttery,toffee,dried fruit,mint,chocolate orange.There's a sulphur dryness that becomes more noticable when you agitate the glass.

T Sweet barley sugar start alongside some dry sulphur(burnt rubber),gets drier and spicier,slightly dirty feel.Mint,Later orangy barley sweetness alongside muted stale dried fruit.Mint toffee ending.

F Brief burst of juicy barley before spices and mint toffee come through again.Then dry sulphur(not too nasty) alongside faint barley and dried fruit remnants.Dry woody oak gradually takes over with mint and licorice.Long lasting aftertaste of dried fruit in melted lurpak,toffee and drier licorice and oak.

B Slightly dirty and with some sulphur.Quite dry and less voluptuous than most sherry cask whiskies I've had.Plenty of mint,toffee and some nice barley.Buttery. I particularly liked the lingering aftertaste.

[Exciseman]

"Shagged by sulphur" is what I've heard. Yet to taste it myself.

[scotchio]

There is sulphur but I've had far worse.Disappointing following some of the reviews but it's all down to tolerence levels and there are some who like that sort of thing. Any members teatering on the cusp of buying are welcome to contact me and I'll swap a sample with them.

[jwise]

I am a huge sherry fan. I like big, powerful, sherried whiskies. However, I'm not always in the mood for a cask strength whisky. I was turned on to Glendronach 15yr Revival as being highly rated and one that fit my favorite flavor profile. This is my first Glendronach.

Glendronach 15yr Revival is bottled at 46% ABV, and is a nice copper color.



Nose: Lots of sherry, but a bit wine-like. This reminds me of the Aberlour 15yr Sherry Finish. Chocolate covered strawberries. But, sweeter than that. Maybe Maraschino cherries in a liquid center covered in light chocolate. A bit "too" sweet for my nose. But there is something darker in there. I'm not sure if smoke is the right word, but definitely a strong malty note. The "darker" note is the sulphur often spoken about. However, I did not find it offensive.

Palate: Warming in the mouth. Semi-sweet on the tongue. Dark, bitter chocolate. Some burnt toffee.

Finish: More maraschino cherries on the finish. Long finish.

Very good. Perhaps too sweet for my taste. Wow. This is really delicious. I might need something salty to go with this whisky. Obviously the balance isn't the best on this whisky, as it needs something else to round it out. However, it IS delicious, and if you have a sweeter tooth than me, this whisky is for YOU!

[Johnny Murgatroyd]

Glendronach Revival. I don't normally look at the packaging, but look how pretty this cardboard tube is! It's almost a pity to open it.

The Revival is part of Glendronach's revised line of whiskies; a 15 year old sherried whisky with the whiskyphile's holy trinity of No Caramel, No Chill-Filtration and 46 ABV. The fine, fine print says this is a 2009 bottling.

Glass:
Glencairn

Water:
5 mL

Colour:
Coppery like the Abunadh.

Body:
Thick

Nose:
Ralfy cautions against a spirity whiff when the bottle is first opened, but I don't find that here. Warm, voluptuous sherry. Sultana raisins, and, uh. Not much else. Raisin, raisin, raisin. It's similar to the Benriach 15 PX (Benriach of course owns Glendronach) but less distinctive. As much as I agitate the glass I can discern nothing sulfury (though I am not sure I am competent to identify sulfur). Just the slight "corkiness" common to sherry (is it the flor yeast?).

I must admit the 2009 bottling date makes me suspect "glassing" cramp. And Ralfy specifically says to let this whisky settle. So let's put it aside for a bit and let it settle.

OK, now. Some more of the grape skins, and a hint of spiciness from the oak. But I am afraid I'm still a bit underwhelmed. As jwise says, this is sweet stuff. I'd be more happy if either the sherry had a more unusual character (with a sharper edge) or if the spiciness of the European oak had more to say.

Naturally I still suspect some glassing ... will try again to see.

Later - more water added. The whisky has now gained surprising opacity - the true sign of No Chill Filtration, of course. The louching is quite attractive...like cloudy ginger beer. That combination of reddish colour and opacity.

Sniff again - How remarkable...the sweetness on the nose is subsiding, as I suspected. There's more room now for spice and wood. Preserved citrus, marmelade. Nutshells. Latterly, even cinnamon.

Leave it to settle again. What changes? (Meanwhile going to a nice chilled Riesling to cleanse).

Even more savoury - warm biscuit and cinnamon. Cinnamon now predominates.

Taste:
Nice stuff. Not as intense as the Abunadh. But nutmeg, peanuts, biscuit and more cork find their voice. Marmelade, tea, cinnamon.

Finish:
Chocolate, oakiness, cinnamon. Some hints of coffee.

.....

My first impression was meh. I do still prefer my sherried whiskies to have more "grit" in them. But I suspect this is a whisky that rewards masses of patience. I will, of course, keep retasting in future to check on the oxidising effect. The subsiding of the sherry aroma is an interesting thing to follow.

[Johnny Murgatroyd]

Okay, trying this neat now....I suspect that a lot of my reaction was due to half-drowning the whisky before. Although Ralfy recommends plenty of water, I think maybe the opposite is the case.

Without water, considerably more intense (of course) but the spiciness seems a lot more prevalent. I know I tend to favour adding less water rather than more. Much better without water....or very little perhaps.

(By the way, the Riesling I'm having is pretty damn good too - Mad Fish from Western Australia. Yum!)

[Johnny Murgatroyd]

And here I am retasting yet again. As suspected, this is a whisky that needs a bit of time and space to finds its voice. Added 2mL water, so let's go!

Nose:
Very much better than before. Intense, voluptuous sherry, dark chocolate, leather, spicy oak, a bit of meatiness like beef stock.

This is the sort of nose I would deem a sherry bomb - it's not just sweet/sherried, but has that extra intensity and "edge" with the malt interacting with the European wood and sherry to produce that kind of characterful spiciness.

Taste:
Almost unbearably intense, fizzing on the tongue. Lots of cinnamon, brown sugar, chocolate, sherry. A very intense palate.

Finish:
Wafts, weirdly, of buttered bread, almost like a warm croissant. Custard, dessicated coconut. Cinnamon and oak linger on the back of the tongue. At the front of the tongue, cut grass and pencil shavings. That croissant taste lingers for a while.

Much better than before, I think, and a lesson in the importance of retasting. And now I want me a croissant.

[Willie JJ]

Nose: Orange biscuits and Pear's soap. Lavender, heather, honey and draff.
Taste: Marmalade, honey, sweet lemon sugar. Quite tannic.
Finish: Malty, tannic, sweet and mid length
Comments: Very nice whisky with none of the sulphur seen in the first release.